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Author Notes: The seedling of an idea for this recipe started while I was making cheddar cheese crackers for the kids. The thought occurred that it might be an interesting base for a tart crust.

As I wandered through the farmers' market later that day, in search of some "late winter" inspiration, a bunch of humble onions set the ball rolling. It was at the moment I knew I wanted to recreate the flavors of a French onion soup into my tart. While the directions seem long, it really does come together effortlessly, and well worth the time it takes to caramelize the onions. - Jennifer Perillo

Food52 Review: WHO: Jennifer Perillo is a mother, a food editor, and a blogger at In Jennie's Kitchen.
WHAT: French onion soup, re-imagined and re-packaged in tart form.
HOW: A filling of caramelized onions, thyme, Swiss cheese, sherry vinegar, and egg is poured into a whole wheat crust and baked.
WHY WE LOVE IT: The cheesey, whole wheat crust is tender and lovely, a perfect foil for the sweet, onion-loaded filling. The sherry vinegar keeps the whole tart balanced. And just like the soup, this tart is deeply satisfying...but not so rich that you can't eat two slices. - The Editors

Serves 6 to 8

For the filling

1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2pounds yellow onions, peeled & sliced thin

2sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed & stems discarded

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1teaspoon sherry vinegar

2/3cup (2 ounces) Swiss cheese, shredded

For the Swiss cheese pastry crust

3/4cup (110 grams) whole wheat pastry flour

1/4teaspoon (2 grams) fine sea salt

1/4teaspoon paprika

1cup (3 ounces) Swiss cheese, shredded

4tablespoons (2 ounces) very cold butter, shredded using a box grater

1 to 2 tablespoons cold seltzer

To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Cover pot, reduce heat as low as it can go without shutting off, and let cook until onions have cooked down and released a lot of their liquid, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the crust. Add the flour, salt, and paprika to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to mix the dry ingredients. Add the cheese and butter, then pulse a few times until it forms a sandy-looking mixture. Add 1 tablespoon of seltzer, pulse again until a rough ball of dough comes together. If the mixture is too dry and crumbly, add more seltzer 1 teaspoon at a time (you may not need the entire 2 tablespoons), and continue to pulse until you have a ball of dough. Turn the dough out onto an unfloured counter, flatten and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Remove cover from the pot of onions, raise heat to medium, add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until onions turn golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. When onions are golden and very tender, stir in the sherry vinegar. Remove from heat and, using a slotted spoon, transfer onions to a medium bowl.

Place the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll it into a 13-inch circle. Fit dough into a 9-inch ungreased springform pan. Fold down sides of dough, leaving a 1-inch high crust.

To finish the filling, add the egg and cheese to the bowl with the onions. Stir to mix well. Pour mixture over the tart crust and spread to the edges using a rubber spatula. Bake for 25 minutes, until slightly puffed and golden. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

I get Amanda's email every week, with great recipes, but i noticed just on this last
email that the right margin is cut off and sometimes you can make up the cut off words but sometimes i can't. Can you please see to it so that my recipes come in intact.?
Thank you very much, Tricia

Is there ANY way to delete the numerous, repetitive comments here? I made the tart tonight and was annoyed, every time I consulted the comments section, by having to troll through them... I used about 2 1/3# of onions and cooked them, lid on then lid "cracked," for about 75 minutes (they never browned per se but developed that lovely texture of caramelized goodies). I used fontina (what I had on hand) and 2 eggs for a slightly more custard-y texture (which didn't work, but that was soooo okay) and a 10", removable-bottom tart pan. The crust was a bit fussy (using 3/4 c. WW flour, 1/4 AP) but totally delicious, as was this tart. Serve this baby with simple greens and you are DONE, my friend. It's fabulous.

This was delicious! I didn't have wheat pastry flour but I had regular wheat. I used 1/2 cup of that and 1/4 cup AP flour. Also I used red wine vinegar instead of sherry. Turned out great! Crust was easy to roll out without parchment.

I used the last of the puff pastry in my fridge and sprayed it with Pam, then sprinkled it with paprika and a smidgen of cheese. I did that for about four or five layers. As for the onions, I followed the directions, but didn't add sherry vinegar (I couldn't find it at my local grocery store). Instead, when the onions were mostly golden, I used a can of Dr. Pepper and a tablespoon of white vinegar, cooking all the liquid out on high heat. I used the last of the Parmesan on top, folded the crust over like a package, and baked the requisite 25 minutes. I put a dollop of plain yogurt on top. With a few pieces of leftover roast chicken and some raw veggies and dip, it was the perfect meal. I am *so full* right now (hic)!